Aston Villa ace Emiliano Buendia scored a brace as he featured for our U21s side in the Football League Trophy against Fleetwood Town on Tuesday night.
The 27-year-old is continuing to work on his comeback after a serious knee injury forced him to miss the entire season last year, and he has gradually made progress after a gruelling rehabilitation process.
READ MORE: Villa ace withdrawn from international duty for ongoing injury issue
Having featured in pre-season, he has been involved in matchday squads to start the new Premier league campaign, but has yet to make his return in a competitive setting.
Crucially though, he was able to get valuable minutes in our encounter with Fleetwood in midweek, as not only did play for 75 minutes, but he also registered two goals, the first of which was a superb finish with a volley from Ross Barkley’s corner.
His second was a lot simpler as he tapped home from close range, but it was positive to see him drift into dangerous positions and put himself in the right spot to get on the scoresheet.
Coupled with playing at a higher intensity and getting his rhythm back, this was a fundamental checkpoint for the Argentine playmaker regardless of context and opposition, and it’s hopefully put him in a great place over the international break to edge closer to getting minutes from Unai Emery when we return to action later this month.
Competition for places is fierce though and so Buendia does face a battle to get into the team, but with injury concerns and Villa’s challenge of trying to compete on multiple fronts as we’ll also start our Champions League and Carabao Cup campaigns this month, we’ll need the full squad to be at Emery’s disposal in order to have the best possible chance of being successful across several competitions.
However, with Buendia in particular, he’s able to offer us something different in final third with his technical ability, creativity, eye for a pass and attacking flair, and having that tactical versatility and alternative dynamic will be critical for us in itself.
As well as Buendia, Barkley also got an important run-out as he’s been limited so far this season behind the preferred midfield partnership of Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana, while Jacob Ramsey was introduced in the second half to get vital minutes too as he continues to work towards getting back to full match fitness and sharpness.
